Results 281-300 of 1,053,117 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Darren O'Rourke OR speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Verona Murphy OR speaker:Gino Kenny)

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fisheries Protection (26 Sep 2024)

Catherine Connolly: I do not doubt that at all but, as the Minister said, in two months it will be six years since the decision was made to bring in this very welcome policy because of unsustainable fishing practices in the six-nautical-mile zone, particularly in respect of sprat. I will not rehearse all of that again but it was urgent enough in December 2018 and here we are, almost six years later, and there...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fisheries Protection (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: I am addressing this urgently. As we know, the outcome of the High Court proceedings only came in the second half of last year. I then commenced the process of formulating the new public consultation process as promptly as I could and it opened in April 2024. I want to see this progressed as quickly as possible. We have to be very conscious that we do things in a sure-footed way that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fisheries Protection (26 Sep 2024)

Catherine Connolly: I welcome the consultation and the 5,000 submissions but we really need a date for when those submissions will be analysed. I suspect that the vast majority of them are in support of the Government's policy, as were the High Court and the Court of Appeal. Both of them found no difficulties with the policy; it was the consultation. The two gentlemen who brought the first action said it was...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Fisheries Protection (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: I would not want the impression to be given that I have not stepped this out in a prompt fashion. I have done so and am very committed to it. It was not possible for me to take any action until I got the final ruling from the High Court, which was delivered in the second half of last year. It had been in the court system from 2018 until then. I now want to continue as promptly as I can...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I appreciate, and I believe a lot of farmers appreciate, that there has been a huge uptake on ACRES and that this would have caused difficulties. At this point, however, they are frustrated and their patience has waned. I will give a bit of context. I recently met with members of the IFA in my office in Clare. They outlined their full discontent at...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: There are a number of issues that have to be worked through in cases where people have not been paid yet. As we discussed with Deputy Crowe earlier there are probate issues, for example, which every year hold up a number of payments. The team is working through it with the objective of getting it up to 95% and, as I said previously, 82% had received their full payment at the end of last...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: I believe that an appeals process will be beneficial. I hope those meetings will result in a resolution for everybody involved. In the latter half of year 2 the scorecards are only coming out. For the farmers themselves, the repayments and all of that issue was based on the scorecards but they could not access their own scorecards. That was an issue. Family farms are struggling. I...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: With regard to querying scores, the facility is in place for engaging with the local CP teams and having it assessed. On the wider point in respect of payments, we have worked hard to make sure farmers could get payments. Obviously, the objective was to ensure everybody got their 85% advance but in the absence of that we made the interim payment. I accept the point Deputy Wynne is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Forestry Sector

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: 61. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his views on the ash dieback scheme recently announced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38144/24]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: What are the views of the Minister on the recently announced ash dieback scheme? Will the Minister of State make a statement on the matter?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett): I thank Deputy Wynne for the question. In May this year I received approval from Cabinet for an ash dieback action plan to implement the recommendations in the report of the independent review group, which I commissioned. The action plan addresses all 13 of the review group's recommendations....

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Violet-Anne Wynne: I appreciate the information. This has been a long-standing issue that I have raised with the Minister of State and through committees. The IFA farmers in particular were hoping for a grant of some sort to ensure the local authority would head up the removal of the roadside trees. The current issue is that the farmer is liable if the tree were to fall or any such incident. The farmers...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Forestry Sector (26 Sep 2024)

Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (Senator Pippa Hackett): The plan I outlined relates to plantation ash forestry only and plantation ash that was grant-aided through my Department in recent years. The Deputy has raised an important issue about the widespread nature of the disease. It impacts the vast majority. There may be 1% or 2% of trees that...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Cathal Crowe: There are 8,000 farm families in County Clare and 85% of those families are involved in the suckler beef enterprise. I am one of those. County Clare is the heartland of the suckler system. Ennis mart and Sixmilebridge mart on Saturdays or mid-week are teeming with families and farmers bringing their cattle through the system. It will be very busy this winter with weanlings. The ACRES...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: We have issued 35,000 scorecards so far. It is important farmers get that so they can look to improve their scores in future years. Farmers do not know how they will score until they get the scorecard. That is a change from previous schemes. The average payments of €5,200 for the co-operation and €5,100 for the general are on track and where we expected them to be, but there...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Cathal Crowe: The whole point of the scorecard is to lead farmers to make informed decisions around their NPI. Many farmers, including myself, are being contacted by farm planners. They are giving us the menu of options and most of us are standing back because we do not have a scorecard and are not sure what we are doing. Should we go off and invest this if it will not change things materially? It...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: Probate is always an issue and will always, unfortunately, hold up a payment. Probate has to be completed because there has to be legal certainty as to who the payment is made to after a death. That can always be challenged during the probate process so the Department has to have that certainty. That is an issue we cannot resolve but will try to work through, being as supportive as we...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Cathal Crowe: Will you backdate it?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Agriculture Schemes (26 Sep 2024)

Charlie McConalogue: The score informs the payment. Where a farmer gets the full payment, it is based on the score and only occurs when the score is finalised. On giving farmers approval for NPIs, every farmer in the co-operation scheme has €17,500 available to spend over the course of ACRES to take steps which will see improvements in the scores at farm level. That €17,500 is still available to...